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John Edwards prosecution borders on persecution

There is a point at which prosecution becomes persecution. That point may have been reached in the sordid case of John Edwards.

I’m not an admirer of Edwards. He had some eloquent things to say about the vast gap between America’s rich and poor in his two runs for president. But any positives were negated when, in the middle of his campaign four years ago, he had an affair and fathered a child with a hot-to-trot videographer, Rielle Hunter.

There were so many things wrong with that:

First, that he was willing to betray the people who found hope in his candidacy by risking it all for some narcissistic sex – flagrantly ignoring the cautionary tales of Gary Hart and Bill Clinton.

Second, that he betrayed the most visible and sympathetic person in his campaign, his wife, Elizabeth, whom the world knew was dying of cancer.

Third, fourth and fifth, that he betrayed his three children.

Sixth, that his lies about the affair began with him insisting the accusation was nothing more than “tabloid trash” and ended with him claiming his aide, Andrew Young, got Rielle pregnant.

Now, Edwards is in court because, according to the U.S. Justice Department, he also broke the law.

To keep the affair secret and Hunter quiet, Edwards arranged for one of his rich supporters, elderly heiress Rachel “Bunny” Mellon, and his campaign finance chairman, Fred Baron, to pay Hunter close to $1 million in a series of secret payments over an extended period. The government claims this was a violation of campaign finance laws and prosecutors want to send Edwards to jail for up to five years, fine him $1.5 million and take away his license to practice law.

The whole case rests on one big question: was the hush money a private gift or a campaign expenditure?

In 2012, it’s getting hard to take seriously any attempt to enforce campaign-spending limits. Thanks to the Supreme Court decision that blew a gaping hole in the rules governing political contributions, there are no limits on independent expenditures by rich guys and big corporations. The result is that candidates and political parties are even more in thrall to special interests.

When it comes to spending, the Republican Party has become a mere subsidiary of political action committees run by Karl Rove, the Koch brothers and other conservative moneymen. It is they who are designing strategy and paying for attack ads. As long as they avoid overtly coordinating their efforts with the party, they can do anything they want with their sea of cash.

By comparison, Edwards’ infraction is as small and cheap as a by-the-hour motel room.

If it even is an infraction. The prosecutors are operating at the gray edge of election law. Clearly, the surreptitious million bucks were not spent on campaign signs, TV ads or a get-out-the-vote effort. Nor did any of it pay for one of Edwards’ notorious $400 haircuts. It all went to the care and feeding of Rielle – a house, a car, furniture, groceries, prenatal care and a totally surreal, multi-city tour of the country aboard Fred Baron’s private jet.

The government’s case pivots on a strange point: The payments may have been private when the tawdry mess was being hidden from Elizabeth Edwards, but, once she found out about the affair, the only people being kept from the truth were voters. At that point, the argument goes, the payoffs were suddenly transformed into something political and were, therefore, an unreported campaign expense.

Even if this arguments holds up, is the crime truly worthy of jail time? Or is the pursuit of Edwards driven by other issues?

The case began in the waning days of the Bush administration. Could it be that when it was handed off to the Obama team they did not want to drop it for fear of looking as if they were favoring a fellow Democrat? Is it worth noting that the man put in charge of the prosecution by Bush’s notoriously political Justice Department was George Holding, a well-known nemesis of Edwards who announced as a Republican candidate for Congress shortly after Edwards was indicted?

Apart from the partisan political implications, there is the disturbing reality that once federal prosecutors get their teeth into the leg of a running target, they are like pit bulls. No matter how pitiful and pointless their case becomes, they will hang on to the bitter end to protect their reputations and careers.

John Edwards is a creep who bears responsibility for ruining his own life. But even he does not deserve to be hounded by government lawyers defending campaign finance laws that have been rendered pointless by justices of the highest court in the land.

Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate.